• Home
  • News
  • Worship
    • Sermons
  • Community
    • Outreach
    • Gallery
    • Meetings
  • About
    • Location
    • Rev. Bethany
    • Church Board
    • Stewardship 2021
    • Disciples
    • UCC

First Christian Church

Disciples of Christ | United Church of Christ | Las Cruces, New Mexico

  • Home
  • News
  • Worship
    • Sermons
  • Community
    • Outreach
    • Gallery
    • Meetings
  • About
    • Location
    • Rev. Bethany
    • Church Board
    • Stewardship 2021
    • Disciples
    • UCC
Home / News / From the Board President
News Paul Cook August 01, 2020

From the Board President

22 July 2020

Bethany’s sermon series on the national parks reminded me of why I love wild areas of nature so much.  Although I haven’t been to that many of the national parks, the ones I have been to have given me a lens to look at the world in a different way. I think living in cities with all of the noise and associated goings on, can cause us to experience tunnel vision with respect to how we see the world. Being in a national park, or even just a wild area of nature, without all of that normal background noise makes it easier to clear the mind, to relax, and take a deep breath. It can help us to refocus on what’s important in our relationships with other people, our relationship with ourselves, and our relationship with God. 

What is it that we hear on a normal day? What is it that we see on a normal day? I love being in the middle of a forest and hearing the whispers of a breeze gently humming through the branches of a tree. I love being able to sit at the edge of a river and be mesmerized by water swirling around big rocks and carrying small bits of driftwood along. I still have a small piece of driftwood that I pulled from the edge of a river in Colorado when I was a kid, exploring along the river with my sister. Whenever I hold that piece of driftwood, I can still smell the river and the trees, and hear our laughter as we walked along in the warm sunshine. 

When we go through a normal day, what is it that we’re focused on? Would we be focused on the same things if our normal day was in the middle of a national park? Can we refocus our minds to see beyond the normal humdrum of our existence and recognize the bigger view of the world around us? Sometimes I can go in my backyard and see flowers blooming or a hummingbird in a dance to find sustenance or a place to rest its wings. I can walk out my front door and watch the swallows that live in the nest on our porch take flight to make sure that I’m not a threat to their young. All of these things are reminders that the world is bigger than ourselves, that our lives are all intertwined, and everything we do has an effect on those around us. If we can expand our vision, God can show us paths that we may not have ever been aware were there. 

As we move forward in our journey together through these difficult and trying times, take time to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and try to imagine how God sees the world. If we can see beyond our tunnel vision, we might be able to help make the world a better place.

Paul Cook

Post navigation

Financial Summary – First Half of 2020
Summer Road Trip: Sequoia National Park

About Author

Paul Cook

Related Posts

  • Our New Normal: Social Distancing

    Rev. Bethany Meier September 27, 2020
  • Thoughts from Bethany

    Rev. Bethany Meier August 01, 2020
  • Financial Summary – First Half of 2020

    Bruce Weber August 01, 2020

Find Us

Address
1809 El Paseo Rd
Las Cruces, NM 88001
(near Las Cruces High School)

Worship
Sunday at 10:15 a.m., with communion.

Contact
Phone: +1 (575) 524-3245
E-mail: office@fcclc.org

Upcoming Events

  • Backyard Farms January 18, 2021
  • AMAD January 18, 2021
  • Clergy Book Group January 18, 2021 at 10:00 am – 11:00 am
  • Backyard Farms January 19, 2021

Donation

2021 Pledge

Pledge

Recent News

  • Our New Normal: Social Distancing Rev. Bethany Meier September 27, 2020
  • Thoughts from Bethany Rev. Bethany Meier August 1, 2020
  • From the Board President Paul Cook August 1, 2020
  • Financial Summary – First Half of 2020 Bruce Weber August 1, 2020
  • Request for Submissions Eric Hays-Strom August 1, 2020

Recent Sermons

  • Rediscovering Your Guiding Star Rev. Bethany Meier January 3, 2021
  • All Earth is Waiting in Love Rev. Bethany Meier December 20, 2020
  • All Earth is Waiting for Peace Rev. Bethany Meier December 6, 2020
  • All Earth is Waiting in Hope Rev. Bethany Meier November 29, 2020
  • Weird Bible: The One with the Talking Donkey Rev. Bethany Meier November 22, 2020

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Copyright © 2018 First Christian Church. Theme by Bloompixel. Proudly powered by WordPress.